After much online glee, the publisher has removed the first glimpse of the superhero’s genitals from its latest Batman issue prompting fans to chase unaltered copies

DC Comics has withdrawn a page of a new comic that showed Batman’s genitals for the first time, leaving fans scrambling to get hold of existing issues featuring what has rapidly become known as the “batawang”.

Published this week, Batman: Damned – part of a new, “edgy and provocative” line from DC – features Batman and the magician John Constantine hunting for a killer in Gotham City. The nude scene, drawn by Lee Bermejo, occurs as Batman removes the Batsuit for a body scan from his computer. The superhero’s genitals were visible in the print edition, but obscured by darkness in digital editions.